The Red Button
by noovvaaa
Summary: Byakuya was curious about the red button that was positioned towards the side of the street that everyone seemed to be looking at. So like any sane person, he pressed it. Needless to say, he wasn't expecting things to go the way they did.
Byakuya didn't know what was happening.

Byakuya was walking down a semi-busy seaside street, minding his own business, when he saw a little stand with a red button on it towards the side of the street. Beside the button was a man with his hood up, face not showing, looking at the button as if trying to figure it out. Byakuya looked around and saw other people from a distance looking at the button too. Why was this button so important? What was the button going to do? Was it dangerous? Byakuya didn't know, but he sure as hell would find out. So, Byakuya did what any sane person would do. He walked up to the button and pressed it.

You see, this was where Byakuya was confused. One moment he was standing up just trying to figure out what the damn button did, the next moment the man that's hood was once up had his clothes ripped away and was now wearing a three piece suit, there was also people running towards them with what looked like, dinner? Byakuya was forced to sit when someone had pushed a chair into the back of his knees, while someone with short blond hair and a sad face sat a board down on top of the stand that the button was once on before he had any time to do anything another short man with white hair came from the other side neatly threw a table cloth across the board. People kept coming. Candles, plates, silverware, glasses of water, food and a center piece were now on the table. Byakuya swore they all practice because everything was done in under five seconds.

"Renji Abarai."

Byakuya snapped his head up from the table at the sound of an almost too confident voice. Across the small table was a man with red hair in a ponytail that seemed to go to his mid back, he had wild tattoos that disappeared under his bandanna and into his hair. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows showing more of his tattoos that seemed to match the ones on his head.

"Byakuya Kuchiki," he answered in his normal monotone. He almost smirked when he saw the red head tense, all confidence he had when he stated his name washed away, "is something wrong?"

"Rukia's older brother, Byakuya?"

Byakuya hummed, "You know Rukia"? He watched as Renji nodded his head slowly, "I suppose it would make sense for you to know me".

Renji's eyes widened and slightly flailed his arms, "Yeah! I'm not a stalker or anything! I swear, I only know what she tells me".

Aw, he seemed almost afraid. Byakuya nodded and raised his eyebrow, "So have you heard a lot about me"? He watched as the young man gulped.

"Well, it's not like I know your whole life", Renji said playing with the table cloth.

Byakuya smirked slightly at the once confident man"What exactly have you heard then, Renji Abarai?"

Renji loosened the collar of his shirt and undid the first three buttons revealing even more tattoos , "Well, you were in the army, a General I believe, uh, your family is one of the *most powerful in the world. Once you were discharged from the army you became a business man took over your family company. You had adopted Rukia into your family as your sister and heir. You also truly despise Ichigo Kurosaki, but you put up with him nonetheless because he's one of Rukia's best friends."

Byakuya nodded his head, the red head was pretty much on point, "How is it that you know Rukia?"

The red head smiled slightly, "Met her on the streets when we were just kids."

"I see. So you're from the 78th district as well?"

Renji nodded and bit his lip slightly, " Born, abandoned and raised. In that order."

Byakuya nodded slightly, "How exactly did you meet her?"

Renji huffed a laugh and leaned back in his chair, "I'm sure you know how the lower districts work. You steal to survive. It's survival of the smartest."

"Not fitness?"

"Nah, it's smartest. You gotta be smart, you gotta know the best people and places to not be killed. But anyways, my friends and I were stealing some water from a vendor and the sells man saw. Started chasing us down the street, yelling at people to stop us. He actually almost caught me, touched my shoulder," Renji said shrugging his left shoulder slightly, "Rukia had came out of no where and tripped him. She helped us get away. After that she stayed with us for a couple years, then you adopted her".

Byakuya nodded and smiled, he liked hearing about his sister's past before he had adopted her. Rukia doesn't talk about it much, saying _'the past doesn't matter, brother. It's the future that does'._ "So, where are your friends that you had talked about, now"? Byakuya knew it was a bad question before he even finished it. He saw how the other had paled slightly, eyes wide and glossy.

"They're, um, they're dead". _Well, shit._

Just as Byakuya opened his mouth to apologize, his phone and buzzed his in pocket, "Excuse me", he mumbled as he fished it out.

The text message was from Rukia, ' _Sorry to disturb you, brother. But what time will you be home?'_

Byakuya sat there with his fingers hovering over the screen. He glanced up at his companion before going back to the text. ' **I'm not sure. Having dinner with a friend** '. Byakuya put his phone on the table and looked at the dinner in front of him. It was spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread that looked to be from the restaurant down the street. "So this is editable, right?" he asked poking at it.

Renji smiled and nodded, "Yeah, nothing funny was done to it," he said as he took a bite from his own plate. Just as Byakuya was about to take a bite, his phone buzzed. Renji glanced at the phone on the table just as the name lit up on the screen. "Rukia"?

"Yes". He said as he read the message, ' _Friend?'._ Byakuya stared at his screen, he had friends, too. Sure, he wasn't a social butterfly, but he had friends.

"You okay? you're glaring at your phone so hard it might catch on fire," Renji joked.

"I'm fine. Rukia doesn't seem to believe I have friends".

Renji threw his head back and laughed loudly, not caring that they were still in public. "Can I see your phone"? Byakuya looked up at Renji who had his hand stretched across the table. He raised an eyebrow at the red head before handing his phone over, not even bothering to turn it off. Renji turned around and held the phone up in the air, the front camera on and snapped a picture of them. He typed a few things, his fingers moving fast across the screen, Renji smiled slightly before handing Byakuya his phone with a wink.Byakuya just just about to see what Renji had done before his phone started to ring, Rukia's name lit up the screen.

"Hello"?

" _Brother! Why didn't you tell me you knew Renji"!_

Byakuya sighed, "There's no need to yell," Byakuya ignored her rush of an apology and continued, "and I was actually wondering the same thing".

The Kuchiki leader was almost concerned at the silence on the other end. He opened his mouth to ask what happened before Rukia's voice flowed threw the phone only this time smaller, " _I didn't think you care about my friends"_.

Byakuya could have laughed, sure he couldn't stand most of them, but she cared deeply for them and he knew that they cared just as deep for her, and for that reason he tolerated it. As long as she was happy he would be too. "Rukia, you are my sister. You are a _Kuchiki_ ". Byakuya looked at Renji just in time to see the red head's gentle smile. Rukia was being selfish on her part, not introducing them before.

" _Yeah. I'm Rukia Kuchiki_ ". Byakuya could practically hear her smile when she said that. He was proud of her and the women she had become. He was proud to be apart of her life and to be an important part in her life. He was proud to give her a last name that she, herself, could be proud of.

" _Can you give the phone to Renji, please? There's a few things I would like to say too him"._ The dark haired male said a quick yes and goodbye before holding the phone towards the other male who took it with a smile. He had barely finished his 'hello' before he jerked the phone away from his ear with a look of disbelief. Even Byakuya looked stunned, he never realize how loud his sister could be. She was saying words Byakuya didn't even know she knew. Some people had actually stopped and stared. At one point of Renji being yelled at, Byakuya swore he heard his sister call Renji a 'stupid red pineapple-head' , but that wasn't any of his business. Actually, it was, Rukia being his sister and all, but he decided he wasn't going to question it.

He watched as Renji sighed and put the phone back to his ear when the yelling had decreased. "Yeah... I know... Okay... Wha- Watch it!.. Uh-huh... I promise... No... Ye-," Renji glanced at Byakuya before his face heated up. He looked away quickly and mumbled a quiet 'yes', whatever Rukia had said after that clearly had an effect on the red head because his face went bright red and his body jerked back, yelling a high pitched 'No!' into the phone. Byakuya could hear Rukia's laughter on the other line while the other just huffed and listened to what the woman had to say.

Byakuya looked towards the sea and saw the sun setting, painting the sky with a world of colors. Part of him was curious as to what his sister said to make the other male have such a reaction, but the other part of him told him not to question it. He glanced towards the food sitting in the table. It probably had gone cold by now with the light ocean breeze that whipped around them. He was slightly hungry, having not eaten since noon. Byakuya was debating weather to stop on his way home too get something to fill his stomach or wait till he arrived home, when his phone had appeared in his line of vision. He gently took the phone and tucked it into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Uhm, sorry if that took long, Rukia wanted details about today". Renji gently tugged at the ends of his hair, looking slightly sheepish. "Sorry, we didn't get to eat either".

Byakuya shook his head, "No worries. I, thank you though, for a lovely evening".

Renji snorted, "I aim to please". He stood up and offered his hand to Byakuya.

Byakuya took it and gracefully pulled himself up. He smirked before saying, "I'll keep that in mind, Renji". He detached his hand from the others and turned to walk from the way he came. Byakuya stopped a few feet away and turned towards the man slightly, "You should come see Rukia, I'm sure she'll appreciate it".

It was Renji's turn to smirk, "Yeah, definitely." Renji turned towards a small path that lead behind the strip of stores, he stopped before he could fully disappear behind a wall and looked towards Byakuya, "And make sure to keep in touch".

Byakuya watched as Renji complete disappeared, mildly confused, ' _keep in touch'? How?_ Just then his phone buzzed, he took it out to see a new message from a number that he didn't recognize. When he opened it Byakuya saw the picture Renji had taken sent from his own phone to said unknown number. The next message was actually from the unknown number.

' _We look good together, don't you think? -Renji'_

He definitely was going to ask Rukia why she didn't introduce them before.


End file.
